Chicago Bears: 5 players who need a big game vs. Seahawks

Inside Linebacker Roquan Smith

Rookie first-round pick Roquan Smith was limited to just eight snaps against the Packers on Sunday night, but he made them count. Hopefully, head coach Matt Nagy sticks to his word about wanting to get Smith out there more against the Seahawks. In a perfect world, Smith starts and Nick Kwiatkoski goes to the bench.

What Smith did in his limited time on Sunday night was nothing short of impressive. He tallied three tackles, one pressure, one sack and one stop — all on eight snaps. It was clear why he was the Dick Butkus Award Winner a year ago coming out of Georgia. All it took to see future greatness was a handful of snaps, and he should see many more on Monday night.

The ideal game plan for Smith should be having him shadow Wilson all night long. Of course, taking care of a running back on certain downs will be necessary. But, Danny Trevathan can do that as well. Because of Smith’s speed, he is an ideal candidate to spy on Wilson for the majority of the game. He gets sideline to sideline faster than any other linebacker on this team, therefore his presence is needed when it comes to stopping the Pro Bowl quarterback on the other side.

Forget setting a goal for tackles, sacks or stops. If Smith is on the field, he’s going to get those. His “big game” on Monday night should detail how he kept Wilson under control, period. If he does that, this team has a great chance for a victory.